The IFA pre-show device launches have officially kicked off, with Asus attempting to beat out competitors with the official unveiling of its first smartwatch.
The new wearable runs on Google’s Android Wear and is known as the Asus ZenWatch.
Aside from the ironic name – after all, the constant notifications offered up by a smartwatch hardly make it meditative – the ZenWatch is actually quite similar to its rivals.
In terms of design, Asus hasn’t jumped on the round watch-face bandwagon, opting for a square, 1.63 inch, 320 x 320 AMOLED touchscreen.
It comes with a leather strap out of the box, which can be swapped for other variations of your choosing.
In regard to its specs, the ZenWatch is similar to the Samsung Gear Live and the recently announced LG G Watch R. Like those smartwatches, it’s an Android Wear device that boasts a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, Bluetooth 4.0.
Additional features include a heart rate sensor and an IP 55 water-proof rating. Asus has also brought its ZenUI to the wearable, along with a range of digital watch-faces and pre-loaded functions.
The latter includes a ‘watch unlock’ feature that lets you unlock your phone by simply tapping the ZenWatch, plus the self-explanatory ‘cover to mute’, ‘find my phone’ and ‘remote camera’ functions.
Priced at â¬199 ( £159), the ZenWatch costs slightly more than its Android Wear counterparts.
The smartwatch is expected to hit stores some time between Q3 and Q4 this year.
